Ittan vs The Catalyst
by First Hokage Hashirama Senju
Summary: Ittan, the Stone ninja, versus the most idiotic thing to ever exist.


Ittan vs. The Catalyst

* * *

_Italics_ are character thoughts.

Warning- this story is very Alternate Universe, for Naruto, Mass Effect, and anything else I bring in. Just a few words of warning- do not expect things to stay in canon. But I will be tearing apart the Catalyst and the Crucible.

* * *

_Just in time, while Ino is healing Garrus, Sakura is healing Liara, Tsunade is healing Anderson, and Hashirama is healing Shepard, I will deal with the leader and controller of this trap! _Ittan quickly ran down the top of the giant dues ex machina known as the Crucible. Ittan had brown spiky hair and matching beard. He wore the standard Hidden Stone flak jacket which was light brown, fastened by a zipper, and had a pouch attached on the front. The undershirt and underpants were red.

A being materialized a dozen feet ahead of Ittan's position. It took the form of a small kid.

_There! _Ittan came to a halt and whipped out a kunai, ready for an attack. "Are you the one calling the shots with the trap?"

"This is no trap." The kid replied, taking several steps towards the ninja.

"Do not come closer." The ninja brought the kunai into a defense position. "Who are you?"

"Fine, I am the Catalyst. The Citadel is my home." The Catalyst stated as he looked towards the beam of light at the other end of the Crucible. "The Citadel is part of me."

_He's not hostile, for now, could easily just whip out the kunai and slice his throat if I had to. Have to deal with this carefully since Minato and Tobirama are keeping the husk army at bay. No one but me can deal with this thing at the moment. _Ittan holstered his kunai. "Since Shepard and Anderson are out of action, I will have to do what they were going to do if they got here. Do you know how to stop the Reapers? Because the races of this galaxy want them stopped."

The Catalyst walked away from the ninja, "Perhaps, I control the Reapers. They are my solution." The Catalyst walked towards the other end of the Crucible, where a beam was present.

Ittan quickly followed, staying alert for tricks and deception. "Solution to what?"

The Catalyst stopped. "Chaos." It then kept walking towards the beam. "The created will always rebel against their creators. But we found a way to stop that from happening, a way to restore order." The Catalyst came to a stop and turned around to face the ninja.

"By wiping out any organic life that has sufficient technological progression?" Ittan questioned, he looked at the Catalyst with disdain.

"No. We harvest advanced civilizations, leaving the young ones alone." The Catalyst walked closer to the beam. "Just as we left this cycle alive the last time we were here."

Ittan tensed, keeping alert. "But you killed the rest, harvested them against their will. And as a matter of fact, the previous cycle tried everything to destroy synthetics wherever they appeared. And yet you still killed them."

"We helped them ascend so they could make way for new life, storing the old life in Reaper form." The Catalyst turned to face a Reaper in the distance.

Ittan turned his attention briefly to the Reaper, then back to the Catalyst. "I think the races of this galaxy would rather keep their own forms."

The Catalyst turned to face the ninja, "No, they can't. Without us to stop it, synthetics would destroy all organics. We've created this cycle so that never happens. That's the solution."

Ittan sighed deeply. "Do you realize how wrong you are about the fact that synthetics would destroy all organics at some point? It is true that conflict can happen, but only if things go horribly wrong. But if things are done right and with care, such as how the UNSC does things with their AIs and how the Geth-Quarian war was finally ended after three centuries without either side having to finish the other off. Goes to show how wrong you are that organics and synthetics cannot co-exist. They can." The ninja took a deep breath and exhaled. "You said you're the Catalyst, but…what are you?

"A construct." The Catalyst replied. "An intelligence designed eons ago to solve a problem. I was created to bring balance, to be the catalyst for peace between organics and synthetics."

"So basically, you are an AI?" The ninja replied.

"In as much as you are just an animal. I embody the collective intelligence of all Reapers." The Catalyst looked at the ninja again.

"But you were created…" Ittan shook his head. _Don't give in to his idiocy, just stay strong. _

"Correct." The Catalyst replied.

"By who?" Ittan questioned.

"By ones who recognized that conflict would always arise between synthetics and organics." The Catalyst replied. "I was that creator to oversee the relations between synthetic and organic life, to establish a connection. But our efforts always ended in conflict, so a new solution was required."

"The Reapers?" The ninja questioned. _This thing's not making much sense. Might have to call in Shikaku. Or Shikamaru if Shikaku is unavailable. _

"Precisely." The Catalyst replied.

"We were told by the races of this galaxy about the creators of you. As a result, I know what you did to them." Ittan looked at the Catalyst, alert for any attacks or tricks.

"We did as we were expected." The Catalyst replied.

"The scientists from various races who researched Leviathan said you betrayed your creators. That you turned them into the Reaper called Harbinger." Ittan's look turned stern.

The Catalyst walked away. "When they asked that I solve the problem of conflict, they failed to understand they were part of the problem themselves. The flaws of their organic reasoning could not perceive this. They lacked the foresight to understand their destruction was part of the very solution they required."

"According to what I heard from the races of this galaxy." Ittan replied. "There were survivors, and they have joined the war."

The Catalyst looked at the ninja. "And I welcome their involvement. I am only facilitating their request."

"I heard the Reapers resided in Dark Space during their tens of thousands of years long hibernation between cycles. Did you create them?" Ittan questioned.

"My creators gave them form. I gave them function. They, in turn, give me purpose. The Reapers are a synthetic representation of my creators." The Catalyst responded.

"And what exactly happened to your creators?" Ittan questioned.

"They became the first true Reaper. They did not approve, but it was the only solution." The Catalyst replied.

"You said that before, but how do the Reapers solve anything?" Ittan demanded. _Keep calm; do not let this genocidal bastard get to you. _

"Organics create synthetics to improve their own existence, but those improvements have limits." The Catalyst replied. "To exceed those limits, synthetics must be allowed to evolve. They must, by definition, surpass their creators. The result is conflict, destruction, chaos. It is inventible. Reapers harvest all life-organic and synthetic-preserving them before they are forever lost to this conflict.

_This thing is insane! _Ittan turned slightly and pointed a finger at the distant battle raging. "The races of this galaxy are fighting a war for survival against the Reapers right now! And thanks to the Librarian, the UNSC, and the Elites, the races of this galaxy have a chance! They might not be here yet, but when they do, its endgame!" _This thing does not realize that even though we only have a few ships that took us ninjas here, there is a gigantic fleet on its way using the Librarian's flagship's slipspace wake. _

"You may be in conflict with the Reapers, but they are not interested in war." The Catalyst replied, unfazed by Ittan's words.

"I find that hard to believe." Ittan retorted. _And I bet he's going to call me a primitive or something, not going to let him get me with that! _

"When fire burns, is it at war? Is it in conflict? Or is it simply doing what it was created to do? We are no different. We harvest your bodies, your knowledge, your creations. We preserve it to be reborn in the form of a new Reaper. Like a cleansing fire, we restore balance." The Catalyst replied. "New life, both organic and synthetic, can once again flourish.

_It's clearly insane, it thinks genocide is okay. _"What do you know about the Crucible?" Ittan questioned.

"The device you refer to as the Crucible is little more than a power source. " The Catalyst replied. "However, in combination with the Citadel and the relays, it is capable of releasing tremendous amounts of energy throughout the galaxy. It is crude but effective and adaptive in its design."

"Who designed it?" Ittan questioned.

"You would not know them, and there is not enough time to explain." The Catalyst replied. "We first noted the concept for this device several cycles ago. With each passing cycle, the design has no doubt evolved.

"Why didn't you stop it?" Ittan questioned.

"We believed the concept had been eradicated." The Catalyst replied. "Clearly, organics are more resourceful than we realized."

"Do you realize you are taking away the futures of the races of this galaxy?!" Ittan questioned, his face showing some anger. "Not too long ago, a masked man tried to put my world under an eternal genjutsu against our will. He was stopped before he could do so, and the ninja alliance remained strong for years afterwards. In fact, it remains strong to this day. We, the ninjas, will not simply stand by and allow an entire galaxy be enslaved and harvested by killing machines while we can stop it!

"The races of this galaxy have hope, more than you think." The Catalyst replied. "The fact you are standing here, the first organic ever, proves it. But it also proves my solution won't work anymore."

"That needs a correction; I am not quite the first. Commander Shepard was the first to get up here." Ittan looked towards the area Hashirama Senju was healing Commander Shepard. _The wounds must have been really bad, the fact Hashirama is still healing him…it has to be the worst sort of injuries. "But_ I am guessing you have some trick up your sleeve."

"We find a new solution." The Catalyst stated.

_This is getting suspicious; I have a bad feeling about this. _"Why are you telling me this? Why are you trying to help like this when your goal is to harvest life in this galaxy?" the ninja questioned.

"You have altered the variables." The Catalyst replied.

"What do you mean?" Ittan questioned.

"The Crucible changed me. Created new…possibilities. But I can't make them happen." The Catalyst looked towards the beam. "If there is to be a new solution, you must act. It is now in your power to destroy us." The Catalyst looked at the red tubes. "But be warned: others will be destroyed as well. The Crucible will not discriminate. All synthetics will be targeted."

"What exactly will happen?" Ittan questioned.

"Your Crucible device appears to be largely intact. However, the effects of the blast will not be constrained to the Reapers. Technology you rely on will be affected, but those who survive should have little difficulty repairing the damage. There will still be losses, but no more than what has already been lost."

"Which means the Reapers will be destroyed?" Ittan replied.

Yes, but the peace won't last." The Catalyst responded. "Soon, the children of this galaxy will create synthetics, and then the chaos will come back."

"Got any more options?" Ittan asked.

"There is." The Catalyst replied. "You could instead use the energy of the Crucible to seize control of the Reapers." The Catalyst looked at the platform with blue light and dual pillars.

"That was what that villain, the Illusive Man, was going to do, was he?" Ittan questioned.

"Yes, but he could never have taken control…because we already controlled him." The Catalyst responded. "You will die. You will control us, but you will lose everything you have.

"How is it possible to control the Reapers if I am dead?" Ittan questioned.

"Your corporeal form will be dissolved, but your thoughts, and even your memories, will continue." The Catalyst replied. "You will no longer be organic. Your connection to your kind will be lost, though you will remain aware of their existence.

"So that means the Reapers will obey me?" Ittan asked.

"Yes." The Catalyst responded. "We will be yours to control and direct as you see fit."

"Any other options?" Ittan asked.

"There is another solution." The Catalyst responded. "Synthesis.

"And that is?" Ittan questioned.

"Add your energy to the Crucible's." The Catalyst replied. "The chain reaction will combine all synthetic and organic life into a new framework. A new…DNA."

"And how does that work." Ittan questioned. _This does not make sense at all. _

"Your organic energy, the essence of who and what you are, will be broken down and then dispersed." The Catalyst replied.

"To do what exactly?" Ittan asked.

"The energy of the Crucible, released in this way, will alter the matrix of all organic life in the galaxy." The Catalyst looked at the beam. "Organics seek perfection through technology. Synthetics seek perfection through understanding. Organics will be perfected by integrating fully with synthetic technology. Synthetics, in turn, will finally have full understanding of organics. It is the ideal solution. Now that we know it is possible, it is inventible we will reach synthesis."

"Why couldn't you do it sooner?" Ittan questioned.

"We have tried…a similar solution in the past." The Catalyst replied. "But it has always failed."

"Why?" Ittan asked.

"Because the organics were not ready. It is not something that can be…forced." The Catalyst responded. "You are ready. And you may choose it."

"That is something that would really change things." Ittan replied. "Not sure if it is a good idea to pick it." _Perfect, it's not picking up on my actual plan; it's not realizing I am just playing along, stalling for time. _

"Why not?" The Catalyst asked. "It would solve everything."

"And there will be peace?" Ittan questioned.

"The cycle will end, the Reapers will cease their harvest, and the civilizations preserved in their forms will be connected to all of us." The Catalyst responded. "Synthesis is the final evolution of all life. The paths are open. But you have to choose."

"Choose?" Ittan stared at the Catalyst for a moment. "Absolutely not! If I were to pick Destroy, it would mean betrayal. I would be killing EDI; after all she has done to help, after everything she did. It would be like if I took a kunai and stabbed her in the back while she was helping me. The Geth will die also, and they do not deserve this betrayal either! They are on our side, just like EDI, and need to be treated like equals! As for Control, I will not choose that either, because it would be like taking slaves. Despite the vileness of the actions of you and the Reapers, taking control is like slavery, and thus not good either. And also I run the risk of being controlled or going mad from the power and becoming a tyrant. Even if I did fight the madness, I would eventually go mad at some point. As for Synthesis, that will not be chosen either. I would be forcing a change on everyone and making everything the same. There will be no diversity. And there is the very real possibility that it might go wrong somehow and everyone will die horribly in a few years, decades, or centuries. So I will not be your pawn!"

"Fine, then the cycle conti…" The Catalyst was interrupted as its head snapped to the area of space in the distance. .

"They're here. Game over, Catalyst." Ittan noticed the slipspace rupture.

* * *

A massive slipspace rupture hundreds of kilometers in diameter opened up along with thousands of smaller ones. The Librarian's flagship arrived out of slipspace, with hundreds of UNSC frigates, Marathon class cruisers, and carries surrounding it. Three Elite supercruisers arrived, surrounded by a dozen UNSC Infinity class ships. A supercarrier shot out of slipspace, surrounded by dozens of Elite frigates. Two dozen Elite assault carriers, including the Shadow of Intent, flew out of slipspace. Hundreds of CCS-class battle cruisers, dozens of Elite destroyers, and several thousand more ships of various classes emerged from the countless slipspace portals surrounding the gigantic portal.

"All ships, assist the allied races of this galaxy, and the forces we deployed some time ago. Though my ship lacks weapons, the sentinels should be more than enough to assist." The Librarian, a Forerunner, spoke over the COM as her flagship's hangar bay doors opened.

Hundreds of thousands of sentinels of varying sizes flew out to attack the Oculi Reaper star fighters.

The UNSC carriers and Elite carriers quickly unloaded their cargo of Longswords, Broadswords, Sabres, Space Banshees, and Seraphs.

The Reaper ships deployed their star fighters, which were met by the opposing forces of hundreds of thousands of sentinels and thousands of star fighter craft.

* * *

The Destiny Accession, badly damaged and barely moving, was being hunted down by three Reaper Destroyers. The enemy closed in for the kill by the second.

"Target the Reaper Destroyers, save the ship." The shipmaster of the CCS-class battlecruiser Vengeful Retribution spoke over the COM to the thirty other ships in the battle group.

The Reaper Destroyer trio turned their attention to the greater threat of the Elite ships, and fired. The superheated liquid molten metal struck the Elite shields with little effect.

"Return fire, full power." The Shipmaster of the Vengeful Retribution spoke.

Three seconds later, every single ship in the battle group fired their energy projectors.

The Reapers' shields could not withstand the sheer number of lasers, and fell. The Reaper crafts were torn to shreds.

"Vengeful Retribution to the Destiny Accession, do you hear us?" the Shipmaster spoke through the COM.

"By the goddess, I thought we were going to die, thank you!" the Asari pilot of the Destiny Accession replied. "What about the others?"

"They will be alright soon; I pity any Reaper that crosses the crosshairs of a supercruiser, supercarrier, or Infinity class ship. They will learn what happens to those who do." The Shipmaster replied. "We will escort you out of the danger zone."

With that, the Elite ships moved into a defensive formation around the Asari ship, and they moved slowly away from the battlefield.

Hundreds of oculi craft headed for the battle group, just before a storm of lasers struck.

"Stop those craft!" an UNSC Longsword pilot shouted as he fired several missiles, which homed in on the Reaper fighters.

His comrades quickly fired their weapons. Hundreds of tiny explosions blossomed as the devastating rain of weapons fire struck their targets.

* * *

The UNSC frigates, cruisers, and carriers engaged a gigantic Reaper battle group. They fired the first volley, which impacted against the Reaper shields of the Reapers on the front of the battle group, downing the barriers.

The Reapers quickly retaliated, and fired their weapons.

The commanders of the ships gave the order for evasive maneuvers, knowing it might be too late. Moments before slipspace portals opened up.

"Did you really think we would just let you fry our allies that easily?" Rtas stated over the COM as his battle group used their shields to block the lasers. Some of the lighter ships such as the frigates lost their shields. The light cruisers suffered minor damage as the Reaper projectiles tore into the hull and punched through several decks. Rtas opened his COM to the entire fleet. "All ships, fire at will! Burn their metallic cuttlefish hides!"

UNSC ships fired their MAC weapons at full power, Elite ships fired their energy projectors at full blast, those without fired their pulse lasers, plasma turrets, and plasma torpedoes in rapid fire. Literal walls of lasers smashed into the Reapers along with the deadly MAC rounds. The shields collapsed within moments followed by enormous explosions blossoming all over their hulls. Even those in the rear were not safe from the barrage.

* * *

A Turian cruiser floated in near Earth orbit with a Reaper capital ship closing in fast.

As the enemy closed in, a needle thin beam from a supercruiser one hundred thousand kilometers distant sliced through the Reaper, shields and all.

The Turian ship COM activated. "This is the Elite supercruiser Absolute Justice. You are in the clear."

The Turians on the ship cheered as the Reaper exploded, knowing the battle had been turned in their favor.

* * *

"You have done it!" the Catalyst screeched in a demonic voice. "The chaos will happen again. This galaxy is doomed!"

_It's pissed off! _Ittan turned and sprinted towards the elevator and Hashirama's location. "Hashirama, get Shepard, let's go! The thing's pissed off and I do not know what it's going to do!"

Hashirama quickly picked up Shepard, and ran towards the elevator with Ittan right behind him. They quickly boarded the elevator and it started to descend.

"I will make your death painful and slow!" the Catalyst's demonic screams echoed over the Crucible.

The two ninjas jumped down to the ground with the elevator halfway down due to its slowness, spotting Tsunade.

"I'm almost done. His condition is stable." Tsunade moved her healing chakra infused hands to another wound on Anderson's chest.

"No time to explain, we must go!" Ittan ordered as he looked back at the way they came with worry on his face. "There's no telling what that thing is capable of!"

Tsunade quickly picked up Anderson, and the three ninjas took off running down the hallway.

Ittan turned around as he jumped into the portal, and saw something he did now want to see.

The Illusive Man's corpse was standing, glowing with bluish white light.

Then all he saw was the blue light of the transport beam as he and the healer ninjas were transported down to Earth.

Hashirama exited first, followed by Tsunade, then Ittan. The two healers headed to Ino and Sakura's location and laid the injured Shepard and Anderson on the ground, then resumed their healing of the wounds.

"Tobirama, Minato, everyone else, keep holding the line against the Husks. The fleet's here, and I'm afraid the Catalyst has made an avatar to kill us all. So I will stop him with the ultimate Sarutobi clan fire release. And mark my words, I will stop him!" Ittan spun around to face the beam and formed a dozen quick hand signs. _Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu! _Ittan took a deep breath, building up chakra.

The Crucible beam wavered as the Catalyst possessed Illusive Man came flying out, its demonic screeching echoed across the battlefield. "Die! You primitives!"

Ittan exhaled, and the fire stream was born. An intense stream of flames, the heat only outmatched by Amaterasu fire, shot out of Ittan's mouth. The flames were so hot that the very ground beneath the Catalyst turned to molten stone.

The Catalyst's forward movement was halted by the flames, and it fell onto the molten rocks.

_I will hold for as long as I can! _Ittan kept the jutsu going, roasting the Catalyst possessed Illusive Man, and the Catalyst itself. Ittan kept spewing the stream of flames, his vision grew blurry. The sound of the battle became more distant as the seconds passed. He felt his stance slipping. _My chakra…it's almost… _Ittan's eyes closed, the stream of flames wavered and dissipated, and Ittan started to fall to his side. As he blacked out, he felt a pair of hands grab him.

* * *

Ittan's eyes opened. He felt a warm bed underneath, and a bed sheet covering his body up to his neck.

"Finally, you are awake." A familiar voice was heard.

"Kurotsuchi?" Ittan turned his head to the left, and saw the female ninja sitting in a chair. "How long was I out?

"Five days." Kurotsuchi replied. "You had severe chakra exhaustion. What you did back there was incredible. I heard that you used the Sarutobi clan fire technique that is usually only used when multiple clan members team up. And yet you managed to kill the Catalyst and melt the rocks under the thing. It was an incredible feat. Nice job!"

"Thanks." Ittan replied. "What about the others? Shepard, and the ones with him that were injured."

"They are doing well. Due to Sakura and Ino's slug sage mode enhanced healing techniques, Garrus and Liara survived. Same for Shepard and Anderson. Tsunade really taught her students well.

"That's a relief." Ittan sighed. "By the way, where are we?"

"The Elite assault carrier Shadow of Intent." Kurotsuchi replied. "And I am sure you are wondering about the battle you were in and saw. It's over. The Reapers lost, and without the Catalyst using them like puppets, they became even easier to kill. Right now, the allies are mopping up what is left of their ground forces and space forces."

"That's good. We have saved an entire galaxy." Ittan replied.

"True, thanks to you, that menace was stopped." Kurotsuchi finished with a smile.


End file.
